It's no go without snow

Winter sports at county parks losing user fees

Winter sports at county parks losing user fees

January 11, 2007|JOSHUA STOWE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Warmer weather has burned county parks in recent months, robbing them of winter sports revenue at a time when park budgets are already tight. Meanwhile, South Bend's city parks have escaped unscathed, thanks to golfers who've taken full advantage of the balmier-than-usual temperatures. St. Joseph County parks have temporarily canceled inner tube, snowshoe and cross-country skiing activities at St. Patrick's County Park in South Bend and at Ferrettie-Baugo Creek County Park in Osceola because of the weather, officials recently announced. Last month, the area received just 4 inches of snow, much less than the 21 inches that's normal for December, said Andrea Lammers, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "When we get a winter like this, it does squeeze us a little bit," said Evie Kirkwood, county parks director. "It does mean needed projects won't get done." County parks didn't offer winter sports at all during 2006, Kirkwood said. But in 2005, parks made more than $8,000 in user fees for such activities. And in 2004, they made $14,000. "It is a chunk," Kirkwood said. User fees help pay for repairs, equipment replacement and small projects, she said. Right now, officials are still evaluating which projects could be affected. The squeeze comes in part because park budgets have been flat-lined or cut for the past five years, Kirkwood said, forcing parks to depend increasingly on user fees and on alternative ways of making money. The situation is different for South Bend, where the weather has allowed park officials to keep Erskine and Studebaker golf courses open later in the season, said parks superintendent Phil St. Clair. The parks have made $6,000 to $8,000 extra on golf fees, he estimated. That offsets the approximately $4,000 to $5,000 parks lost at the Howard Park skating rink, he said. The rink opened about a week and a half late, according to manager Melanie Trowbridge. In addition, she said, rain has kept people away on some days the rink has been open. "Down a little bit in the winter sports, up a little bit in the summer sports," St. Clair said. Weather forecast There's a 50 percent to 60 percent chance that temperatures here will be above normal for January, February and March, said Mike Skipper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, there's a 40 percent to 50 percent chance that precipitation will be below normal during the same period, he said. The county parks equipment that makes snow for inner tubing hills can't be used unless the temperature is consistently no more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit, officials said. Inner tubing will start when temperatures fall to that level and/or there is at least 6 inches of natural snow, they said. Snowshoe and cross-country skiing can't start until there's at least 6 inches of natural snow on the ground.